“Festive Greetings”??

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A great scholar of Makkah Mukarramah, Shaikh Dahhaan, related the following thought provoking incident:

A learned man who lived in Makkah Mukarramah passed away. Sometime later, his grave was re-dug to bury another person. To the utter amazement of those present, there lay in his grave the body of a beautiful European looking girl. Coincidently, there was a man from Europe among the crowd who identified this girl. He said, “This girl is from France and the daughter of a Christian. She had accepted Islam secretly and studied some deeni books from me. All of a sudden she fell ill and passed away.”
Half the mystery was solved, that her body was moved to the blessed land of Makkah Mukarramah since she was a pious Muslim girl. Now the question remained, “Where is the body of the learned man?”

They said to the Muslim from Europe, “Please dig the grave of this girl on your return and see if the body of the learned man is there?”
When he returned, he explained the entire episode to the girl’s parents. They were extremely surprised and eventually decided to dig her grave. When the grave was dug the body of the girl was nowhere to be seen. In it’s place lay the decomposing rotten body of the learned man who was buried in Makkah Mukarramah.

When the news reached Makkah Mukarramah, the people were perplexed. The reason for the girl’s body being relocated to Makkah Mukarramah was understandable but what was the reason for the learned man’s body being rejected from Makkah Mukarramah and moved to the land of the disbelievers?
They concluded that the best person to ask would be his wife. So they approached her and inquired, “Did your husband have any trait of disbelief?” She replied, “Not at all, he was a devoted worshipper who would recite the Quraan and perform tahajjud prayers.” They said to her, “Think carefully. There has to be something seriously wrong in him against Islam for his body to be moved.”
After some thought she said, “Oh yes! There was something that I was always uneasy about. After having relations with me, when he required an obligatory bath, he would say, ‘How nice for the Christians, they don’t need to bath!’”

The people said, “This is definitely the reason for his body being rejected from Makkah Mukarramah and thrown amongst such people whose ways and traditions he loved.” (Khutubaate Hakeemul Ummat, vol. 22, pg. 415)

Lesson:A French girl from a Christian home secured her place in Makkah Mukarramah because of loving Islam and it’s ways, whereas a learned man of Makkah Mukarramah was rejected because of being dissatisfied and unhappy with an outwardly small aspect of deen. Being happy and excited with the ways of non-Muslims in their times of festivity is also a way of showing dissatisfaction to the deen of Islam. Meeting, greeting, exchanging gifts and attending their venues also form part of this. Rasulullah (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) has issued a severe warning in this regard. “Whoever (happily) adds to the glory of a nation (other than the Muslims), then (let him know that) he has become part of them.” (Ithaaful Khiyaratil Maharah #3297)

A Muslim will fulfil the rights of every person, be just to all and in fact be kind and compassionate towards every human being irrespective of whom he/she is. However he/she will not participate in any way in the festivities of other religions or express happiness at the celebrations of shirk.